Comcast to let customers track and rate technicians with new app

Comcast, a company known and reviled for its customer service horror stories, it trying out a new app that will allow customers to track and rate its technicians.

In a blog post, Comcast(CMCSA) said it will begin trials in the suburbs of Boston that will send alerts to customers about 30 minutes before a technician is due to arrive at their homes.

"We're hoping this will prevent our customers from just needing to sit at home and wait," said Charlie Herrin, Comcast's head of customer experience. "If we are running late, which can happen if our tech gets tied up at someone else's house, we will let folks know that too, and provide real-time status updates so they can plan accordingly."

The app also has a "rate the experience" feature so that customers can rate the quality of service they received. "If the experience isn't what it should have been, customers can let us know, and we will call them to see how we can correct the situation as quickly as possible," said Herrin.

Herrin said if the trials go well, Comcast hopes to roll it out to customers nationwide in 2015.

Customer says Comcast dispute got him fired

Comcast is trying to repair damage to its reputation from recent news stories about problems between the company and its customers. One customer recently claimed he was fired from a job with Comcast's accounting firm for complaining about charges on his Comcast bill. Another recorded a lengthy conversation with a Comcast representative who refused to cancel his service. And another customer said he waited three hours to cancel his service, only to be disconnected.